The PadresþÄô Jedd Gyorko #9 grabs the throw and tags out the DodgersþÄô Carl Crawford #3 at second base on the steal attempt during their game at Dodger Stadium Thursday, August 21, 2014. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Don’t look now, but Crawford is tearing it up at the plate. He has raised his average back up to .267, meaning he has gained 37 points since that first week of August. Since Aug. 10, he he has hit .459 (17 for 37) with five multi-hit games. He had three hits in three of those games.

Crawford, 33, is exciated about his resurgence.

“It’s just a matter of getting your rhythm back,” he said before Saturday’s game against the New York Mets. “When I was younger it didn’t take as long to get going, and now it just takes a while and once it comes, it stays.

“Just one of those things where it takes a while. And I know people’s patience is extremely short these days. So I’m just happy that it just came at some point, you know?”

Where’s the power?

Manager Don Mattingly was asked before Friday’s series opener why his team is not hitting more home runs. Adrian Gonzalez leads the Dodgers with 17, but the Dodgers have hit only 94 as a team. Only San Diego (89) and St. Louis (83) have hit fewer in the National League.

Mattingly had an interesting response.

“I mean, I think you are who are you anyway, right?” he said. “I mean, who’s leading the league in home runs? (Giancarlo) Stanton has 30, right? I think (Justin) Upton is there in the top five, right? He’s got like 24.

“Home runs are way down all over the place. It’s not like we’re the only club not hitting homers. Offense is down in general, so maybe the pitching is that good right now.”

Miami’s Stanton leads the NL with 32 home runs. Anthony Rizzo of Chicago has 29 and Upton of Atlanta has 25.

“I think the pitching has been really good,” Mattingly reiterated. “I think guys strike out more now. They put the ball in play less. Pitching seems to have passed up hitting right now.”

Statistics bear that out. For example, in 2009 there were eight teams in the league that had team batting averages of at least .260 — the Dodgers and Mets led the way at .270. Five years later, Colorado is batting a league-high .277. The Dodgers are second at .259.

Moreover, whereas the 15 teams in the National League collectively averaged 15.3 home runs per game in 2009, that average is down to about 12.5 this year. (It’s difficult to come up with an exact average for this year because one team has played as many as three more games than others).

The reason? Mattingly said it’s because every team has multiple pitchers — especially in the bullpen — throwing in the mid-90s and higher.

Crawford, for one, believes that could be it.

“It seems like that’s all you see now,” he said of the hard-throwers. “You don’t really see the thumbers (those who rely on off-speed stuff) too much, the guys who just pitch from 89 to 91, you know?

“It seems like everybody throws hard. In the bullpen, everybody’s throwing hard and over a six-month period, that tends to wear you down. Maybe that could be the case. I’m not sure.”

The Dodgers entered play Saturday having scored 530 runs, fifth in the league.

Tired Puig gets some rest

Center fielder Yasiel Puig was given the day off Saturday. In his past six games he has gone just 4 for 24. Moreover, he has had just one extra-base hit in his past 14 games. He hasn’t hit a home run since July 31.

“Yeah, we knew before the game yesterday and we talked — I knew he was getting beat up — (to) see how he was doing,” Mattingly said. “(He) said he was tired. We thought (Saturday) was the right day. So give him a day (off Saturday), he’ll play (today) and then we have an off day (Monday). Hopefully, get his legs back underneath him a little bit.”

Mattingly said he has noticed Puig not having his usual gusto.

“More than anything, it’s just a lack of energy,” he said. “A lot of times, it ends up being just little things you see on the field; body language and then at-bats get shorter where you don’t see the same patience.”

Also …

Mattingly also gave third baseman Justin Turner the day off. He doesn’t like to play Turner too many days in a row because of past injuries. … Hanley Ramirez is expected to come off the disabled list today and Mattingly said he expects to start him at shortstop.

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